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Three Sisters
Harper and her two sisters face extreme danger and unexpected natural disasters while hiking in the Cascades of Oregon in this story of nonstop action, survival, high school science, and sibling rivalry.
Fourteen-year-old Harper Anderson is embarking on a camping trip with her family: twelve-year-old sister Ryker, a know-it-all who likes to push her buttons; sweet, eleven-year-old sister Jentry; and their dad Jordan, who is trying his best to keep the family together. The trip is to honor their recently deceased mother, whose ashes they carry with them. Fittingly, they are hiking South Sister, one of the three volcanic peaks of the mountain range called Three Sisters in central Oregon. But when the mountain suddenly erupts, their memorial hike turns into a harrowing fight for survival. With Dad injured, it’s up to Harper to get her family safely off the mountain, amid explosions, fires, glacier melt, cave-ins, acid rain, and more tests of her wits and courage.
Fourteen-year-old Harper Anderson is embarking on a camping trip with her family: twelve-year-old sister Ryker, a know-it-all who likes to push her buttons; sweet, eleven-year-old sister Jentry; and their dad Jordan, who is trying his best to keep the family together. The trip is to honor their recently deceased mother, whose ashes they carry with them. Fittingly, they are hiking South Sister, one of the three volcanic peaks of the mountain range called Three Sisters in central Oregon. But when the mountain suddenly erupts, their memorial hike turns into a harrowing fight for survival. With Dad injured, it’s up to Harper to get her family safely off the mountain, amid explosions, fires, glacier melt, cave-ins, acid rain, and more tests of her wits and courage.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published March 10, 2026
About the author
David Macinnis Gill
24 books140 followersDavid Macinnis Gill is the author of the award-winning novels Black Hole Sun and Soul Enchilada, both from Greenwillow/Harper Collins. His short stories have appeared in several magazines, including The Crescent Review and Writer’s Forum. His critical biography of young adult author Graham Salisbury, Graham Salisbury: Island Boy, was published by Scarecrow Press. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English/creative writing and a doctorate in education, both from the University of Tennessee.
He is the Past-President of ALAN (The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents) and an Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. His non-fiction, book reviews, essays, and academic work have appeared in a variety of publications, including The English Journal, Teacher-Librarian, and many others.
David’s teaching career began in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he was a high school teacher at Brainerd High School and briefly at the Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences. He later joined the English Department at Ohio University as an assistant professor. Currently, he is an associate professor of English education at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.
David has been a house painter, cafeteria manager, bookstore schleper, high school teacher, and college professor. He now lives on the Carolina coast with his family, plus fourteen fish, two rescued dogs--an airebeagle and a border setter--and a nocturnal marsupial.
He is the Past-President of ALAN (The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents) and an Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. His non-fiction, book reviews, essays, and academic work have appeared in a variety of publications, including The English Journal, Teacher-Librarian, and many others.
David’s teaching career began in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he was a high school teacher at Brainerd High School and briefly at the Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences. He later joined the English Department at Ohio University as an assistant professor. Currently, he is an associate professor of English education at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.
David has been a house painter, cafeteria manager, bookstore schleper, high school teacher, and college professor. He now lives on the Carolina coast with his family, plus fourteen fish, two rescued dogs--an airebeagle and a border setter--and a nocturnal marsupial.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
March 29, 2026
How many disasters and near death experiences can one novel have? It was a bit much. I am exhausted from it.
The father in this novel is soooooo infuriatingly shitty. I understand he's dealing with the immense pressure and grief after the shocking death of his wife but his daughters are too. They're not acting out the way he is and they're actual children. I have several family members who have had to raise young children alone after the unexpected death of their spouses and they step up and parent their kids.
The father in this story is mean, cruel, impulsive and reckless. He belittles his daughters, he humiliates them, he invalidates their thoughts, feelings, their intelligence and their gut instincts. He pits them against each other and lashes out at them. His daughters get in trouble with him when they make intelligent, thoughtful decisions (like deciding to bring a cell phone along on an intense hike in case of emergencies). Even his unsafe decision to kick his young daughters out of the car for arguing with each other and forcing them to walk on a remote road - it's a true crime podcast episode waiting to happen. One of them was wearing flipflops and could have easily got injured by spraining her ankle or tripping. Yes it's frustrating when siblings bicker but it's clearly exacerbated by grief and needs support not punishment. He nearly got his daughters killed about a dozen times during the novel.
If this novel were real, I'd want to Dad to lose custody of his daughters and Garis to raise them instead. She's the only sane and responsible adult in this novel.
Speaking of useless adults - how were the 911 operators all so rude, unprofessional and victim blaming? I'd like to think this would never happen in real life if emergency officials knew the lives of several children were urgently in danger.
This novel was a bizarre and frustrating read. The characters don't speak the way 11-14 year olds do and the father deserved to lose his thumb (or worse) for how terrible he is. The ending isn't satisfying - though the sisters (and their father) survive, the toxic family dynamics aren't solved and no authorities put the father in his place (hello, child endangerment). While Garis does mention she needs to have a talk with him, his horrific behaviour isn't punished or resolved. I understand parents like this exist but it doesn't make it pleasant or easy to read about.
The cover is gorgeous though.
The father in this novel is soooooo infuriatingly shitty. I understand he's dealing with the immense pressure and grief after the shocking death of his wife but his daughters are too. They're not acting out the way he is and they're actual children. I have several family members who have had to raise young children alone after the unexpected death of their spouses and they step up and parent their kids.
The father in this story is mean, cruel, impulsive and reckless. He belittles his daughters, he humiliates them, he invalidates their thoughts, feelings, their intelligence and their gut instincts. He pits them against each other and lashes out at them. His daughters get in trouble with him when they make intelligent, thoughtful decisions (like deciding to bring a cell phone along on an intense hike in case of emergencies). Even his unsafe decision to kick his young daughters out of the car for arguing with each other and forcing them to walk on a remote road - it's a true crime podcast episode waiting to happen. One of them was wearing flipflops and could have easily got injured by spraining her ankle or tripping. Yes it's frustrating when siblings bicker but it's clearly exacerbated by grief and needs support not punishment. He nearly got his daughters killed about a dozen times during the novel.
If this novel were real, I'd want to Dad to lose custody of his daughters and Garis to raise them instead. She's the only sane and responsible adult in this novel.
Speaking of useless adults - how were the 911 operators all so rude, unprofessional and victim blaming? I'd like to think this would never happen in real life if emergency officials knew the lives of several children were urgently in danger.
This novel was a bizarre and frustrating read. The characters don't speak the way 11-14 year olds do and the father deserved to lose his thumb (or worse) for how terrible he is. The ending isn't satisfying - though the sisters (and their father) survive, the toxic family dynamics aren't solved and no authorities put the father in his place (hello, child endangerment). While Garis does mention she needs to have a talk with him, his horrific behaviour isn't punished or resolved. I understand parents like this exist but it doesn't make it pleasant or easy to read about.
The cover is gorgeous though.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
Excellent survival story for young teens and upper middle grades. Just the right mix of family/character drama and action and suspense. Three sisters and their widowed father are hiking in a mountainous wilderness area-- named approximately enough, Three Sisters--when its dormant volcano starts to come to life. They are immediately thrust into many dangerous situations as they have to get themselves to safety, without any outside help. But their frequent bickering and unresolved family issues from the loss of their mother also hinder their progress. Great book to give to fans of Peak by Roland Smith, Playing With Fire by April Henry, and other survival-type books. I liked the differentiation between the 3 girls, in personality types and inherent skill sets, including one who I think displayed signs of neurodivergence in a very nice and positive way. You could easily tell them apart; their sibling jibes at each other were funny but also painfully honest and realistic. I found myself rooting for them all to make it out okay. And I learned a whole lot of information about volcanoes!
I received a digital advance copy of this book to read from Edelweiss.
I received a digital advance copy of this book to read from Edelweiss.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Harper Anderson is not happy that her father is dragging her and her sisters Jentry and Riker to the Three Sisters mountain range in Oregon to hike to the top to spread her mother's ashes. Their mother, a nurse, drowned in a flash flood trying to get home from work, and Harper has had to step in and deal with her sisters since their father is so grief stricken. The girls are constantly bickering in the car, but are glad to be at Truman's Lodge and see longtime friend Garis, who owns the lodge. They start their hike with a scuffle over who will carry their mother's ashes, and of course Harper steps up. When they stop at a lake on their way to the top, they are a little alarmed to see dead fish and smell sulfur in the air, but keep hiking. In between chapters, the reader gets to see reports from the park service about seismic activity in the area. Harper has kept her phone with her even though her father didn't want her to, but there is rarely a signal. Since the park rangers have all been furloughed, and the family wasn't able to register, you would think that they would turn around when they feel tremors, but they don't. As they are scattering their mother's ashes, there is a tremor and a landslide, and they all barely escape with multiple scrapes. Their path down is wiped out, and they have to find another way down. The girls are angry at their father that he lost the ashes, but things get even worse and the family is plunged into a dire fight for survival. There's pumice ash in the air, a bulge in the mountain that sends them to higher ground, and an injury when Jentry is kicked by an injured deer she tries to help. Harper hears a little from Garis, who is trying to get them down off the mountain, especially since there is an evacuation order. The family manages to call 911 and request a helicopter to be evacuated, but are not happy that the wait could be 6 hours, since lots of people need rescued, and there are few available resources. They finally have help sent, and shelter in a nearby cabin, but when the helicopter comes, the father tries to board it midair from the roof, and falls. He's trapped, and the girls have to amputate his thumb to free him. The 911 dispatcher says that no one else will be coming after the father's escapade, so the girls have to get him down the mountain by themselves. Will they be able to survive?
Strengths: There aren't many survival novels that deal with escaping volcanoes, although there is Barone's nonfiction Mountain of Fire, about Mount St. Helens. The details about what it would be like to be outside when there is a volcano erupting were fascinating, and I now know to include a bandana and possibly a face mask in my survival kit if I ever go hiking. I liked that the girls all had different scientific interests and knew a lot about medicine, weather, and natural phenomenon. The deer attack was a good twists on the standard bear attack in middle grade novels, and made sense. Deer are cute and wouldn't hurt people, right? I really liked Garis, and her lodge sounds like a good place to visit. Including a government shut down and furloughed park rangers made the survival aspect even more stark.
Weaknesses: The bickering that the girls did was realistic, but got a bit old, as did the description of allergies. I found it a little hard to believe that seasoned hikers would have continued after all of the warnings like dead fish and tremors, but it makes for a good story. Could definitely have done without the dead parent trope, but that is always the case for me.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed Brorsen's Wilderness Hacks, Downing's Just Keep Walking, or Floyd's Survivor Mountain.
Harper Anderson is not happy that her father is dragging her and her sisters Jentry and Riker to the Three Sisters mountain range in Oregon to hike to the top to spread her mother's ashes. Their mother, a nurse, drowned in a flash flood trying to get home from work, and Harper has had to step in and deal with her sisters since their father is so grief stricken. The girls are constantly bickering in the car, but are glad to be at Truman's Lodge and see longtime friend Garis, who owns the lodge. They start their hike with a scuffle over who will carry their mother's ashes, and of course Harper steps up. When they stop at a lake on their way to the top, they are a little alarmed to see dead fish and smell sulfur in the air, but keep hiking. In between chapters, the reader gets to see reports from the park service about seismic activity in the area. Harper has kept her phone with her even though her father didn't want her to, but there is rarely a signal. Since the park rangers have all been furloughed, and the family wasn't able to register, you would think that they would turn around when they feel tremors, but they don't. As they are scattering their mother's ashes, there is a tremor and a landslide, and they all barely escape with multiple scrapes. Their path down is wiped out, and they have to find another way down. The girls are angry at their father that he lost the ashes, but things get even worse and the family is plunged into a dire fight for survival. There's pumice ash in the air, a bulge in the mountain that sends them to higher ground, and an injury when Jentry is kicked by an injured deer she tries to help. Harper hears a little from Garis, who is trying to get them down off the mountain, especially since there is an evacuation order. The family manages to call 911 and request a helicopter to be evacuated, but are not happy that the wait could be 6 hours, since lots of people need rescued, and there are few available resources. They finally have help sent, and shelter in a nearby cabin, but when the helicopter comes, the father tries to board it midair from the roof, and falls. He's trapped, and the girls have to amputate his thumb to free him. The 911 dispatcher says that no one else will be coming after the father's escapade, so the girls have to get him down the mountain by themselves. Will they be able to survive?
Strengths: There aren't many survival novels that deal with escaping volcanoes, although there is Barone's nonfiction Mountain of Fire, about Mount St. Helens. The details about what it would be like to be outside when there is a volcano erupting were fascinating, and I now know to include a bandana and possibly a face mask in my survival kit if I ever go hiking. I liked that the girls all had different scientific interests and knew a lot about medicine, weather, and natural phenomenon. The deer attack was a good twists on the standard bear attack in middle grade novels, and made sense. Deer are cute and wouldn't hurt people, right? I really liked Garis, and her lodge sounds like a good place to visit. Including a government shut down and furloughed park rangers made the survival aspect even more stark.
Weaknesses: The bickering that the girls did was realistic, but got a bit old, as did the description of allergies. I found it a little hard to believe that seasoned hikers would have continued after all of the warnings like dead fish and tremors, but it makes for a good story. Could definitely have done without the dead parent trope, but that is always the case for me.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed Brorsen's Wilderness Hacks, Downing's Just Keep Walking, or Floyd's Survivor Mountain.
March 11, 2026
I enjoyed the relationship between the sisters, and it feels realistic. They fought a lot, but then they were there for each other when they needed to be. They got stuck on a volcano when it was erupting and they were not able to evacuate so we got to see their struggle with figuring out how to get down the mountain. They went up the mountain to deliver mom’s ashes. Through the book, forgiveness was developed and relationships got closer. However, I wished in some parts, the storyline wasn’t as slow, and it picked up the pace. However, if someone wanted all of the ways that could have gone wrong going down a volcanic mountain, then this book is for you. I would have liked to see a little more happy things taking place, rather than all disatrous events. But as a whole, the book was okay.
“Thank you HarperAudio Children's and Greenwillow Books for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.”
“Thank you HarperAudio Children's and Greenwillow Books for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.”
April 10, 2026
Great premise, with some well executed disaster movie-esque scenes, but boy oh boy was I furious atlarge chunks of it. Oh my god why is their dad so mind boggling idiotic and authoritarian? Ignoring his daughters' every opinion and consistently endangering everyone both after the disaster AND before, despite supposedly being an experienced hiker. And how are the sisters' knowledge spheres so conveniently expert and specific to their survival at every turn? Yet they snipe and fight throughout, especially when the plot needs tension to spike or another obstacle to drop. Extreeeemely annoyed at how the emergency workers are repeatedly portrayed as very plot-convenient indifferent assholes. Like when would ANY 911 operator EVER be like, eh nope, deal with it yourselves, sucks to be you, and then hang up on CHILDREN in a crisis with zero reassuring words or directions. Aggravating failings in execution.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an audio ARC.
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book. It is a survival story about trying to escape a volcanic eruption while out hiking. This story introduces the reader to the family who have lost their mother and how their family has been affected since her passing. I liked the characterization that was built by their arguing, but the arguing did get a bit old and repetitive after a bit. Once the eruption began, the story did take off. I liked the podcast elements that were added in as well. The narrator did an excellent job with this one and was great to listen to.
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book. It is a survival story about trying to escape a volcanic eruption while out hiking. This story introduces the reader to the family who have lost their mother and how their family has been affected since her passing. I liked the characterization that was built by their arguing, but the arguing did get a bit old and repetitive after a bit. Once the eruption began, the story did take off. I liked the podcast elements that were added in as well. The narrator did an excellent job with this one and was great to listen to.
April 19, 2026
Waffling between a one and two star rating. Three sisters go hiking in the Cascade Mountains along with their father, ostensibly to spread their deceased mother's ashes at a favorite spot. As a double entendre, they are hiking South Sister, one of the three volcanic peaks of the mountain range called Three Sisters in central Oregon. A volcano erupts threatening their lives. The sisters constantly squabbling and inane dialogue was annoying, but not compared to the father's ignoring warnings and poor decisionmaking, which was even overshadowed by assinine responses by 911 emergency operators. Do yourself a huge favor and watch the movie Dante's Peak, with Pierce Brosnan instead!
May 21, 2026
This book very firmly held my attention the whole way through. There were a couple things I have a slight side eye to, like the emergency response operator script and Jentry having stolen from a hospital and gotten away with it, but the majority of the book, I was riveted.
The one true qualm I had with it was that the girls have important conversations where they share their feelings but there's not really any resolution. Especially with Dad. There's a lot of conflict with Dad that never really gets talked about or resolved.
The one true qualm I had with it was that the girls have important conversations where they share their feelings but there's not really any resolution. Especially with Dad. There's a lot of conflict with Dad that never really gets talked about or resolved.
May 12, 2026
As a local Bendite, this premise hooked me in the early news, pre-publication. Us locals are aware that the sisters are active and could become temperamental so I enjoyed this version of what could happen and appreciated the motivation to spread ashes over a place that the whole family enjoyed. It is not often that we see a book written about our own backyard so I think I will have no trouble finding readers just on that alone.
March 14, 2026
Set in Bend, OR, 3 sisters and their father plan a hike on a dormant volcano, or so they thought… Catastrophe strikes, and the family must use their skills and wits to overcome the landslides, earthquakes, and pyroclastic flow the mountain is throwing at them. I was on the edge of my seat the ENTIRE time.
May 21, 2026
YA adventure novel about a widower and his three daughters outrunning a volcanic eruption in Oregon. The girls are between the ages of 11-14 and they all talk like Sheldon Cooper. The dad is a phenomenal jerk who does everything that he can to put his children in danger, and the dead mother trope is too much. Do not recommend.
November 13, 2025
Very suspenseful, if not a little fantastical. Should be a big hit with kids.
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May 1, 2026Hugely unlikeable characters. The sisters never stopped fighting, and the father never redeemed himself. I found myself hoping he wouldn't make it off the mountain.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 23, 2026
Well this was such a fun and intense little survival story about sisters and family and grief and volcanoes! I really enjoyed the family dynamic and all the twists and turns.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews